The Silent World and a Live Stream Script

It was quiet, profoundly quiet.

The silence was reminiscent of a cinema, as if they hadn’t yet left the theater, still enjoying its exclusive quietude, devoid of any other human sound.

While deserted streets might be understandable, the complete absence of staff within the shops was baffling. What could possibly explain that?

“Red Spider Lily… could it be… we’ve arrived in another world?” Saint Lily voiced this conclusion, though she wasn’t entirely confident.

This ‘other world’ was almost identical to the previous one. In a snack shop, the oden machine still emitted steam, its light-brown broth bubbling gently, while dumplings and corn steamed in an adjacent warmer.

“Hmm… this corn isn’t bad,” Red Spider Lily remarked, picking up an ear and taking a bite. It was fragrant and sticky-sweet, retaining the ingredient’s natural flavor, though she personally preferred salted corn.

“Red Spider Lily, you…”

“I’ll pay for it, don’t worry.” With that, she fished four coins from her pocket, flashed them at Saint Lily, and then placed them on the counter.

“That’s not what I meant. In this unknown world, I think we should proceed with caution,” Saint Lily said, shaking her head.

“It’s fine! My poison resistance is really high, and besides, you’re here, Saint Lily, aren’t you? Abnormal statuses? Just a blessing and it’s easily handled!” She gave a thumbs-up.

“You make it sound so easy!”

Saint Lily sighed, her staff spinning as she cast a blessing upon Red Spider Lily.

“So this is what a blessing feels like? It’s all warm and cozy~”

Red Spider Lily narrowed her eyes, letting out a comfortable sigh, and munched on her corn with even greater relish.

‘……’

Saint Lily watched, shaking her head. Red Spider Lily’s complete lack of tension made her feel a little hungry herself, despite having eaten plenty of popcorn earlier, hadn’t she?

At this thought, Saint Lily’s cheeks flushed faintly before she shook her head again.

“Red Spider Lily, I’m going to check nearby. We might find that little cat from before.”

“?”

“Hey, wait for me! I’ll be done eating quickly!”

Red Spider Lily held the corn horizontally and began to spin it, rapidly detaching the kernels. Her cheeks puffed out like a hamster storing food.

“Mmm~” After a few chews, she managed to speak. “Done!”

“Really~” Saint Lily was amused, saying helplessly, “You could have taken your time, you know.”

Red Spider Lily spread her hands, offering no reply. Of course, any answer would have to wait until she’d swallowed all the corn; it would be impolite otherwise.

Saint Lily mimicked Red Spider Lily’s gesture, which only made her chuckle again. She turned towards a nearby supermarket, with Red Spider Lily following close behind.

The subway station’s supermarket was not large; a few rows of shelves marked its end.

The two of them wandered inside but found nothing out of the ordinary.

It seemed the little cat wasn’t here either.

Saint Lily shook her head, though she wasn’t overly disappointed.

This outcome was rather expected. The little cat had seemingly guided them, only to vanish once they exited the cinema and its task was complete.

“Could it have already left the subway station?” Red Spider Lily mused.

“Hmm… cats hate water, don’t they?” On this point, Saint Lily had her own thoughts. “It rained heavily outside recently, and though it’s stopped now, I saw a lot of accumulated water. I don’t think it would go out.”

“Is there a possibility that it wasn’t just an ordinary cat?” Red Spider Lily scratched her cheek, questioning Saint Lily’s common sense.

“Hmm…” Saint Lily replied. “But based on the information we currently have, it had the appearance of a cat. Without any other details, we can only assume its cat-like form might hold some significance.”

Saint Lily smiled and continued, “Actually, it’s fine even if we’re wrong. If there’s any loss, it’s just a bit more time spent, which isn’t a waste. We can become more familiar with everything inside the subway station.”

“And if that little cat truly exists to guide us, then it will certainly reappear before us again, won’t it?”

Cautious as ever, Saint Lily wasn’t eager to open up the entire map just yet.

****

“In this world, everything is a replica of reality. Food is edible, and more importantly, there’s even a signal.”

“Messages sent also receive replies.”

Saint Lily gazed at her phone, where she had just received a message from her younger sister asking if she would ‘be home for dinner.’

‘It might be a bit late, but I should be able to make it.’

She edited and sent the message.

The reply was an emoji of a little girl with a flattened, aggrieved face, captioned ‘Okay.’

Saint Lily smiled.

Naturally, she hadn’t forgotten the main task. Picking up her phone, she began recording a video of her surroundings. “We’ve arrived in another world. As you can see, it’s similar to reality, but there are no people.”

‘……’

Saint Lily paused, stopping the recording, and a question arose in her mind. “Red Spider Lily, how do we prove this is a dungeon?”

“Hmm, those who know should already know. We just need to draw attention to it. If we, who don’t fully understand, add half-baked explanations, it’ll just look like a prank.”

Red Spider Lily explained, “Film a circle here where there are no people, then film another circle outside the subway station. If a few calamity beasts pop up and roar, that should be enough.”

“Oh.” Saint Lily nodded, pondering. “Would it be better to just start a live stream?”

“Live streams can’t be edited, which makes them seem more authentic,” she added. “Besides, I have my own official account, and it has a decent following.”

“A live stream, that’s certainly a method…” Red Spider Lily paused, looking at Saint Lily strangely. “But streaming from your official account, aren’t you afraid of exposing yourself?”

“?” Saint Lily blinked, asking in confusion, “Why would I be afraid? We’re not doing anything bad, are we? And compared to creating a new account, my official account has much greater reach, right? That way, we can be discovered and taken seriously, can’t we?”

‘……’

‘Right, that’s right.’ Saint Lily wasn’t a villainous ability-user.

Red Spider Lily patted her head. ‘Oh no, my scalp is a bit itchy. I must be growing a brain.’

“Ahem~ So, about that…” Red Spider Lily cleared her throat, glancing left and right. “Saint Lily, the matter of intelligence gathering is difficult to explain, and then there’s everything with Su Mo. So, a live stream is fine, but let’s first design a scenario. We’ll pretend to accidentally stumble into this place, then after the stream has progressed for a while, we’ll realize something is wrong and start asking for help! That way, people will start calling the police, and official personnel will take notice!”

‘……’

Saint Lily remained silent.

“What’s wrong? Is there a problem?” Red Spider Lily scratched her face.

“No, I was just thinking, live streams can have scripts too, huh~” Saint Lily chuckled bashfully.

“At least live streams don’t have rehearsals. If you act poorly, it’ll be obvious immediately~”

“I’ll do my best, Director Red Spider Lily!” Saint Lily declared, raising her head at a 45-degree angle, her voice filled with fervent belief, speaking with dramatic cadence, “Actually, my childhood dream was to become a movie queen!”

“Then I shall look forward to it, my dear leading lady~” Red Spider Lily shook her head with a smile.

****

And so, Saint Lily’s live stream began, titled ‘Accidentally Entered Another World with No One Around!’

The initial viewer count of ‘1’ gradually started to climb.